


Greater Things

by Daerwyn



Series: A Collection of Drabbles by Helmaninquiel [78]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Amputation, Car Accident, F/M, Hospitals, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 03:22:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8312107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daerwyn/pseuds/Daerwyn
Summary: The best thing in the world is waking up beside you.





	

You had received the call as soon as your lunch break ended, you had just gotten to your office, and begun a long-awaited (not really) email. You had never moved out of your chair faster in your life, said a hurried word to your boss when you peaked your head through the door, and sprinted for your car in the car park.

The hospital took two agonizing hours to get through with traffic, but it was good, you were told when you finally arrived, panting, a mess of tears and a few bouts of road rage out of your system. The nurse handed you an ID sticker, told you the room number, and you were gone. Not running, but moving as fast as you could to the elevator and up to the ICU.

He was out of surgery, you were told as you went to the nurse station, was stable, but still out of it. You were allowed to see him.

Aragorn laid still on a bed, sheets wrapped around his legs, a hospital gown around his body, and thirteen carefully placed stitches on his forehead. It was the arm that made you feel faint the most. Where the car had pinned him in, and the firefighters said that it was broken beyond repair.

The doctors had said it was broken beyond repair.

Where they had amputated. But he was alive, and that’s all that mattered to you. Tubes and IVs and countless of other wires were all over him, making him look like a modern day Frankenstein. His arm was covered in layers and layers of gauze.

“Do you know what happened?” you whispered to the nurse that had accompanied you to the door.

“Police informed us that a truck hit him while he was stopped at an intersection.” Your wide eyes stared at your husband, full of fear - for him. “His car flipped, pinning him to the ground, between the seats.” You nodded, tears blinking themselves away as the heart monitor beeped steadily. “He will be out most of the night. We’re giving him strong pain medication so he won’t feel anything. You can sit by him.”

“Can I… can I touch him?” you asked hesitantly. The nurse didn’t even hesitate. She gave you a soft smile.

“Just be careful of his wounds. And we’d prefer that you wear gloves.” Her chin jutted to the boxes by the entrance of the room, in three different sizes, all a pasty blue that was Aragorn’s least favorite color. She squeezed your arm in comfort. “He’s going to be fine, from all signs we’ve seen so far. He’s a strong one.” As you selected the appropriate size of gloves, she spoke again. “I’ll be back in another hour to give him some more pain medication. He’s not on any prescriptions, is he?”

“No,” you answered honestly. “He’s never sick, doesn’t even take tylenol.”

“Wonderful, thank you.” You thanked her quickly and she left you alone. Aragorn was sound asleep, and when you approached, even though he couldn’t hear you, you were still careful to be quiet. Pulling a chair up beside him, on the side that was less injured, you slipped the gloves on and then took his hand.

“Hey,” you said softly. Lacing your fingers with his, you rested your chin on the rail of the bed, watching him attentively. “Oh, you’re going to be so mad when you wake up.” You smiled, despite the tears pooling in your eyes. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

You didn’t know how long you stayed there, but long enough for the nurses to switch shifts, and for one of them to suggest you go get some food while they changed bandages and cleaned him up a little better.

Your mother came down the next day, and would stay with Aragorn during the time you were at work. It relaxed you to know someone would be there, and could keep you updated immediately.

He didn’t wake up for two days, something you were told to expect. And when he did wake up, it was slowly. Your mother was in the foodcourt, getting some coffee for the both of you, and Aragorn groaned first, which was what alerted you.

You said his name, desperately, and then pressed the call button, to notify the nurses of the change. And then he was opening his eyes, blinking at you a few times as if adjusting to the light. And once he saw you, his body relaxed into the bed and he gave you a lazy smile. “Hey,” he muttered.

“Hey,” you whispered back. You blinked back tears. “How you feeling?”

“My heart hurts,” he admitted. “My whole body hurts.”

“You were in an accident,” you told him carefully. “Do you remember?”

He frowned, blinking drowsily at you, before glancing down at his body - as best he could from the angle he was laying. At first, it didn’t seem like anything was amiss, until he noticed the gauze wrapped around his arm. “What happened to me?”

You swallowed. “I guess it was pretty bad… A truck hit you at the intersection, lost traction and slipped on the ice.” Aragorn remembered, it seemed, that part. “You flipped, and the police say that you were pinned between the seat and the door. They don’t know how it happened, but the seat belt was severed in the impact… Your arm…” Aragorn glanced up as you hesitated, more clarity in his expression as the seconds ticked by. “They said they tried everything, but you were losing too much blood, and … and you would have had so much damage that you would never have been able to use it properly. Not to mention infection, recovery time….”

“It’s gone,” Aragorn said softly.

Tears spilled from your eyes and you nodded. “They had to.”

But he said nothing like you expected him to. He just nodded slowly. “Good… I don’t care about an arm or a leg or anything stupid like that.”

And it was your breaking point. You sobbed, and leaned forward just enough to kiss the top of his head. “I was so scared. When I got the phone call… This is all my fault. If you hadn’t have gone to lunch with me, you wouldn’t have been out on the street, and you would have never been hit-”

“Hey,” Aragorn said, his dark eyes meeting yours and the skin around his eyes crinkling as he smiled up at you. Maybe the drugs were still too strong. “It’s alright. It’s not your fault. Besides, we were celebrating.”

You rolled your eyes. “The anniversary of the first time I slept over is hardly a celebratory landmark.”

“It is to me,” Aragorn insisted gently. “The best thing in the world is waking up beside you. I love thinking that it’s been five years since I first learned that, and have not wanted to leave your side since.” Your watery smile was full of as much love as you felt for your husband, and his own turned into a spasm of pain as he shifted slightly.

“Don’t you dare move,” you warned sharply, worry overpowering the moment. “Or your nurse will kill you for sure this time.” But you melted at the look he gave you. “I love you, too. You’re going to make me go gray with all this worry.”

“You’ll still be beautiful,” Aragorn insisted.


End file.
